Right and left opening door and hanger structure



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inuentor`v Attorneys C. S.` ROSENFELD RIGHT AND LEFT OPENING DOOR AND HANGER STRUCTURE Filed April 9,V 1938 July 18, 1939.

July I18, 1939. c. s. Rosl-:NFELD 2,166,534

RIGHT AND LEFT OPENING DOOR AND HANGER STRUCTURE Filed April 9, 1938 2 sheets-sheet 2 52mm A forneys object is toyprovide a novel, door wherein ex.

Patented July 1s, 1939 UNITED STATES RIGHT AND LEFT OPENING DOORAND HANGER STRUCTURE Calvert s. Rosenfeld, Darby, Pa. ApplieamiY April 9, 193s, serial No. 201,138

", v z claims.

The `present invention relates to closures for cabinets, such as refrigerators or the like which in use must be sealed for air tightness whenA closed, and relates more particularly to a hanger One object of the invention is to provide a door l supporting hanger which is so arranged-with -respect to the coacting face of a cabinet as to ensure a p'erfect seal about the opening to the cablnet when the door thereto is closed. A further posed hardware is reduced to a minimum.

Another important object of my ^invention is to provide arrangements of the character indi-l cated which reduce themanufacturing require'- ments of furnishing cabinets with either left opening or right opening doors.

e, Another important object of my invention is to provide arrangements of the character indicated which are more advantageously susceptible t'o shaping and inishing in a variety of,forms', l .such as are dictated by modern taste, in the execution of cabinets.

Other important objects of my invention will be apparent from a reading of the description taken in connection with the drawings herein, wherein for purposes of illustration I-have set forth a preferred embodiment of my invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 representsa front elevation of ,a cabinet with the door 4removed to more clearly disclose a hanger embodying one form-of the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged transverse vertical lsectional view .taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the pivoted latch in use in the left hand portion of the de vice as shown in Figure 1.

'Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken through Figure 1 just above thev latches and showing the door in a fully closed position.

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view, with the door removed, taken through the hinge mechanismand showing the mechanism in a fully closed position, a partial left hand open position being shown in phantom lines, and a partial right hand open position being shown in dotted lines.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the pivoted A latch shown in Figure 2.

Figure 'l represents a section on line 1-1 of Figure 1.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 5 designates a cabinet, such as the cabinet of a'modern refrigerator which includes a refrigerating chamber 6 having a front opening 'I giving access to the chamber 6 and a door which is generally designated 8 which has a protuberance 9 which when the door ismounted on the 5 front of a cabinet and is in a closed position, extends into the opening 1 to close and seal therefrigerating chamber 6. The side walls of the cabinet have inner metal linings I 0,. II, respectively, and exterior metal linings I2, I3, respec- 10 tively, between which are blocks I4, I5, respectively, of wood or other suitable body forming insulating material. The door 8 is formed of a back plate I6 and a front plate I1 between vwhich is a body of insulating material I8 such as wood 15 against the lmarginal portions of the back plate 20 I6 of the door 8 and which has on its left side at properly-vertically spaced intervals pin -barrels' 20 which extend away from the hanger I9 to the extreme left side of the cabinet 5, each mounting a hinge pin 2| on which the hinge leaf 221s piv- 25' oted, the hinge leaf having an acute angularly oiset portion 23 which adapts the hinge leaf to assume a position parallelly spaced from the back of the hanger I9, as shownL in Figure 5 of the drawings. The hinge leaf or plate 22 is fas- 30 tened by suitable means to the front of the wall forming block Il as illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings, with a wood or other suitable material plate or strip 24 interposed between the front A of the-plate 22 and the back of the hanger I9. 35 A suitablel number of vertically spaced hinge leaves 22, such-as two in the case of the illustra- -tive form of the invention shown herein, having been attached tothe frontend ofthe side walli I4 of the cabinet, the frame having been ar- 40 ranged to lie unattached to the back of the left marginal portions of thevdoor, the frame I9 is hingedly supported on the cabinet so that its right hand edge may be swung away from the right hand side of the cabinet in a right hand 45 opening manner. y l

At the side of the hanger` I9 opposite the hinge leaves 22 -pin barrels. 25 are provided having. lhinge pins 26 which pivotally support hinge plates.A

21 which are arranged to lie inl a closed position 50 against the front of the lframe I9 as illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings. This offsetting of the pin barrels` 25, as well as the pin barrels 2|),4 locates the hinge pins 26 and 2| so asA to insure a free and complete swingof the door .to full `connection with what has a corresponding position and these spaces serve to receive any suitable type of compression gasket to ensure an effective' seal when the door is closed. These hinge plates 2T are fixedly secured to depressed receiving portions 28 of the marginal part of the right hand side of the back of the door 8. whereby the door 9 is hngedly, mountedon the hanger I9 for left shown in AFigure 4 ofthe drawings, the front end of the right hand side wail of the cabinet is faced by plating 29 which connects with the inner and outer plates II, I3`and that a strip 30 of wood or other suitable material is interposed between the back of the hanger I9 and the plate 29, the strips 24 and 39, because of these arrangements provide the finished facing of the front of `the cabinet at the left and right hand sides.

By reference to Figurev 5 of the drawings' in been described it will be seen that when the door 8 is operated in a left opening manner the door 8 will come away from the cabinet and leave the hanger I9 in place on the fronipof the cabinet, the door pivoting on the hinge pins Y26, and that in a right hand opening action of the door 9, the hanger I9 will come away from the cabinet with the door and the door will hinge on the pins 2I. These arrangements make it possible to open the. refrigerator door from either side, this in turn making it f possible to reach the contents of the refrigeratbe predeterminedly the refrigerating ing chamber 6 which may located at a particular side of chamber, with a minimum opening action of necessary opening of ing the hanger the door, so that the selected contents may b e reached more quickly and thetemperature in the refrigerating chamber less reduced by unthe door. It will also be obvious that due to the optional opening of the door from either side',

- A left hand opener 3lv and a right hand openerl 32 are provided, each opener including a respective vertical rod 33, 34 pivoted at its lower end.

to an operating lever 35, 96 pivoted on the lower part of the cabinet, the rods being respectively slidably received inopenings 91 formed inthe I5. These rods are, arranged to' wall formsl I4, selectively operate and release the respective latches or catches which are carried by the door,

in the case of the left hand catch,v and by the right hand wall of the cabinet in the case of the right hand catch. Locating'the left hand catch in the door facing towards the cabinet and the right hand catch in the cabinet facing towards the door provides means for respectively prevent- I9 from coming away from the front of the cabinet when.the. door is opened from the left side and preventing the hanger I9 from leaving the door when the door is opened from the right side. The left hand catch is shown in Figurev 3 and is generally designated 40 while the right hand catch shown in Figure 6 is generally designated 4I.

The left hand comprises a fiat bar 42 catch 49, shown in Figure 3, which has a pivot pin hand opening operation. As

the refrigerator may be disposed with respect to furniture in a room withbarrel 43 at oneside ofvthe middle thereof and a depending tapered latch or nose 44 depending. I

pivot 45 which is mounted between the sides of a spring casing 49 which has a base 41 penetrated face of the left side of the door l. The latch equipped vportion of the catch extends forwardly through registering openings in the wood strip 24 and in the frame I9, in the reverse ofthe order named to reach into an opening 50 formed ytherefrom at the opposite side of the middle l A thereof, and the pin barrel 49 receives a pin or in the block I4 of the left hand wall' element of the cabinet, and a suitablespring 5I acting vertically inthe casing 46 acts against the short arm of the catch to `keep the nose 44 engaged behind the hanger I9, whereby left hand opening of the door 8 is positively prevented until the nose 44 has been unseated by raising the long arm of the catch by operation of the operator 9i.

The latch 4I on the right hand side of the refrigerator cabinet consists of a bar 42' having a pin barrel 43 at one side of the' middle thereof, and the tapered nose 44' is located at the extremity of the long arm of .the catch instead of intermediate the ends of the long arm thereof as in the case of the catch 40 shown in Figure 3. The catch 4I shown in Figure 6 is supported by a pin 45' mounted between the sides of 'a casing 46' which is seated in an accommodating opening 52 formed in the fr ont ofthe block I5 of the sov right hand side wall member of the cabinet, with of the hanger I9 .to prevent right opening' of the door 8 until the operator has been depressed to cause the rod 94'to move upwardly and engage the long arm of the catch 4I and raise the latch 44'. Suitable openings in the wood strip and the vhanger I9 are formed' therein in a substantially registering manner. y

Although I have shown and described herein a. preferred embodiment of` my invention, it is to be definitely understood that I do not desire to limit the application of the invention thereto, and any change or changes may be made in the structure and arrangement of the parts, within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having described the invention, whafj is claimed as new is: 1

'il A mounting for the door of a cabinet'hav-I ing an access opening, consisting of an annular hanger encircling said opening and located between the opposed faces of the cabinet and the door, the overall dimensions of said hanger with respect to the corresponding dimensions of the cabinet and the door being such as to form a circumferential space about said hanger and between the opposed faces of the cabinet and the door to receive a compressible gasket for sealing purposes, means including pin barrels for hinging one side of said hanger to the front of said cabinet, means including pin barrels for hinging the opposite side of said hanger to said door, each pin barrel on the hanger being formed in a lateral oifsetin the plane of said hanger, latching devices for respectively locking one side of said hanger to said cabinet and the other side of said hanger "for eonh'ollingsaidlatching 2. 4 mounting for therdooriof a cabinet haveollsistmgofanannular` hanger to the inner face of said door, a -latch means `avliilmhed to and Aprojecting outwardly lfrom door is swung about one hinge means the hanger swings therewith and when the oor, is swung about the other hinge means theY hanger remains latehed .tn said cabinet.

oALvERT s; ROSENFEID.- 

